


In Too Deep

by sammysouffle (talesandthings)



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-11-05 14:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11014869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesandthings/pseuds/sammysouffle
Summary: Foggy gets caught up in a little lie he once told his employer and now he’s in need of a husband and a daughter. He has the perfect candidates for the part, but the problem is that neither of them exactly like him. Foggy has a plan, though. If he wants to get to the dad, he has to make a deal with the little Devil herself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this: http://baker-ginny.tumblr.com/image/160991260981  
> After I read that I was like that totally sounds like something Foggy would do.

**_One Year Ago_ **

“So I see you graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University, impressive,” Jeri hums thoughtfully as she scans through his resume. “But I don’t see any real life experience outside of your internship at Landman and Zack.” She looks up and gives Foggy a curious look.

Foggy’s heart sinks to the bottom of his stomach. He _needs_ this job because it’s the only way he can say a big fuck you to Landman and Zack and walk out with his soul intact. If he doesn’t get a job at Hogarth, Chao, Benowitz then he will have stick around at that shady company and die a little on the inside every day.

“Despite being an intern, I still handled a few high-profile cases at L&Z,” Foggy explains and tucks a stray hair behind his ear.

“Oh yes, I heard about your work on the tenancy case,” Jeri replies and her eyes look like they are piercing through his soul. “What was the client’s name again, Armand Tully?”

Foggy’s blood runs cold at that name and he gulps. “Um… That’s one of the cases that I lost,” he points out.

“Lost on purpose, you mean?” Jeri raises her perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her. Well, shit. Foggy starts to shake his head but Jeri brushes him off. “Oh, no need to deny it, Mr. Nelson,” she tells him as she leans back in her executive chair. “That case is the reason why you’re here in the first place. I think it takes a lot of courage doing what you did." 

“Oh?” Foggy asks, surprised.

“Yes, Mr. Nelson. I see a passion in you and a drive to do the right thing and I appreciate that. We need that around here. More importantly, I am not letting you waste your talents away at Landman and Zack.”

Foggy is left speechless as she finishes talking and opens and closes his mouth a few times before he finally saying, “T-thank you. Wow, I promise I won’t let you down.”

“I hope you’re willing to work hard, Mr. Nelson. I am putting my faith in you.”

“Of course,” Foggy nods in agreement.

Jeri hums her approval and starts going through resume again. In the meantime, Foggy looks around and his eyes land on the picture frame sits next to her phone. It seems like it was taken at a hospital. There are Jeri and her wife, smiling brightly at the camera while holding their newborn baby. Foggy can’t believe that the woman in the picture is the same one sitting in front of him right now. She seems much relaxed and happy in the picture than in real life. “You have a beautiful family,” he comments after a few seconds of contemplation. Couldn't hurt sucking up to the future boss. 

Jeri glances over to her right and a similar smile spreads across her face much to Foggy’s amusement. “They are beautiful, aren’t they?” She asks and her eyes are soft as she fondly looks at the picture.

“Yes,” Foggy agrees. “How old is your baby now?”

Jeri puts his resume down and turns her attention on him again. “Oh, he’s 6 months old now. Time went by so fast,” she tells him albeit enthusiastically. “My wife, Pam, has been a _Saint_ through all of this. I, on the other hand, try my best.” She let out a laugh that surprises Foggy. “I shouldn’t be asking you this but what about you? Do you have any children?”

“Yes,” Foggy replies still distracted by the fact that Jeri actually laughed. When the realization of what he just said hits him, he sobers up and tries to correct himself.  “I uh- I mean-”

“Good for you!” She tells him excitedly. “How old are they?”

“Siii- Six. She’s six. She’s an adorable and bright little kid. She’s also pretty good at art, yep, she’s a skilled macaroni artist,” he nods pursing his lips together. “Her dad and I call her ‘Our Little Picasso.’” And oh, my god why can’t he stop talking?

“That’s wonderful! You’ll fit right in here then,” Jeri tells him much to his confusion. “After Pam and I had Jeremy, I understood the importance of bonding with your child and giving them all the time you possibly can. People in our field probably have the highest number of broken homes so I try to give my employees the opportunity to spend enough time with their families. If you ever feel that you need leave early to pick your child up from school, take her to her extracurricular activities, or work from home when she’s sick then you’re welcome to do so.”  

Well… That was unexpected. Maybe it couldn't hurt to let the lie continue. For now. 

*** 

**_Present Day_ **

One year later and Foggy still hasn’t told his boss that he neither has a husband nor does he have a daughter. He does, however, fully enjoy the perks that come with having both. He sometimes takes off early from work early to pick up his “daughter” from school (when he just skips out to get drunk with his friend Jessica), he even gets to work from home whenever his “daughter” is ill. So yeah, now the whole firm thinks he has an adorable little daughter named ‘Lisa’ and a dashing and loving husband named ‘Frank’ who is in the Marines. The truth is that these two people are real and they also happen to be the only father-daughter duo that Foggy knows. For a whole year, Foggy manages to avoid introducing his “family” to his co-workers, mostly because he always lies and says that Frank is overseas and Lisa is spending the weekend with her biological mother, which again, isn’t a lie. _Technically_.

Things go well until they don’t. Foggy wins one of the biggest cases of his career and of the firm. With the help of vigilante best friend (yes, because such is Foggy’s life, that he _actually_ has a vigilante best friend???!), Foggy brings down one of the biggest crime bosses of Hell's Kitchen. That’s when Jeri starts talking about making him a partner in the firm. This will not only make him the youngest partner in the history of Hogarth, Chao, and Benowitz, but it will also make him the first one to make partner in just a year.

*** 

“Pam and I wanted to invite you to our house for dinner next Saturday,” Jeri tells him while he’s visiting her office one day.

“Oh yeah, of course! What time would you like me to come over?” He asks enthusiastically. He’s never met Jeri’s family and if she’s inviting him over then maybe he does have a good chance at becoming a partner.

“How about 8?” Jeri suggests. “This would be the perfect opportunity for me to meet your family.”

With that Jeri pulls the rug right out from under his feet. His _family_. Of course. The same family that Foggy doesn’t have.

“Um- my-” Foggy struggles with an answer. “My family- actually- Lisa will be at her mom’s place this weekend, unfortunately, and Frank is still overseas.”

“Oh,” Jeri says impassively. “How about when your husband returns home from active duty? It should be sometime this month, right?” She continues to ask and then offers him a sympathetic smile. “I understand that your situation is unique with your husband being overseas and all. But I like to know that I am making the right people partners in my firm so it’s always important for me to meet their families as well. I know what you’re like when you’re at this office but I would like to know what you’re like outside of it too. So talk to your husband and see what works best for both of you.”

“Yeah…” Foggy trails off. This is probably the perfect opportunity for him to come clean but of course, his mouth decides to go against his brain. “I’ll do that.”

***

“I need a husband and a daughter,” Foggy announces loudly as he storms into his vigilante best friend, aka Matt’s gym that evening. He gets odd looks from a few alpha males, trying to pick up weights way above their strength capabilities, all in an effort to possibly impress Karen. Karen, who happens to be 6 months pregnant.

“Don’t we all,” Karen responds dryly from where she is typing away on her laptop behind the counter, her hipster style glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.

“Says the woman who is happily married to the second most handsome man in the whole of Hell’s Kitchen. First being me of course,” he gloats but gets nothing from Karen. Not even a single acknowledgment of ‘Yes, Foggy. You are indeed the most handsome man in not only the whole of Hell’s Kitchen but the whole of New York. And I only married Matt because you happen to be gay.’  Nope, of course, she doesn’t say any of that and continues working. Rude. “Karennnnn…. Pay attention to me!” Foggy whines as he starts pacing back and forth in front of the counter.

Karen lets out a put-upon sigh and takes off her glasses. She then leans back in her uncomfortably tiny chair and glares at him. “I swear to God, Foggy, if this is one of your petty rich guy problems again, I will pick you up and throw you out of here myself.”

That makes Foggy stop pacing and he puts his hands on his hips. “I don’t have petty rich guy problems!”.

“Last week you told me that the barista put whole milk in your Caramel Macchiato instead of 2% milk and you and I quote ‘had to throw away my drink and buy a second one because you can’t expect me to drink Caramel Macchiato with whole milk, _Karen_ . _Are you actually insane?!’_ ” She puts her hand over her mouth to cover a fake gasp after doing an imitation of Foggy that sounded nothing like him. At all.

“That’s because I couldn’t drink it, _Karen_ ,” Foggy argues and throws his hands up in frustration. When Karen starts laughing, Foggy leans over the counter to talk to the unborn baby in her belly and complain to them instead. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into, kid. You not only have one but _two_ incompetent and immature parents.” Foggy smirks to himself when hears Karen snort above him. “Lucky for you, you will have a very competent, smart, and _handsome_ godparent.”

“Who says you’ll be the godparent?” Karen asks in an attempt to rile him up. 

“Let’s not kid ourselves, Karen. We all knew _I_ would be the godparent before you and Matt even did the do and made this child.” Foggy looks up at Karen and grins at her. “So who’s the other godparent? I don’t think you’ll even need one but for argument’s sake, who would I have to share custody with if something happens to you and Matt.” He stops talking when she gives him an unimpressed look. “Not that anything will happen to you two. You and that human disaster will live a long and prosperous life, well into your 100s and beyond.”

“Nice save,” Karen says sarcastically and rolls her eyes. “The other godparent will be Frank. So if anything _does_ happen Matt and me then you two will have to make sure that this kid gets into Columbia and becomes a lawyer.” A fond smile appears on her face as she rubs a hand over her swollen belly.

“Hey, nothing will happen to you two, okay?” Foggy tells her seriously and reaches out to take her other hand. “I’ll make sure that you’re always safe. Even if I have to steal Matt’s Dread Pirate Roberts costume and go fight bad guys at night, I will do it, if it means that you three are okay.”

Karen directs her fond smile at him and squeezes his hand. “Aw! Now I can’t even be mad at you for being an asshole,” she says and bites down on her bottom lip. “So what were you talking about earlier? When you said that you needed a husband and a daughter.”

Foggy sighs and takes his hand back. “I am in so much deep shit, Kare Bear. I may have lied to my boss when I got this job last year and told her that I had a husband and a daughter.”

Karen big blue eyes grow even bigger and she puts her hand over mouth to gasp for real this time. “Foggy, you didn’t.”

Foggy cringes and nods at her in return. “I did and now Jeri wants to meet my imaginary family before she offers me a promotion.”

“Jeez, Foggy, I can’t even-” Karen exhales a sharp breath. “So what are you going to do?”

“I can’t tell her the truth because then I’ll just get fired for keeping the lie going for so long. I may or not have left work early a few time to pick up my daughter when I really spent the time drinking with Jessica. I also may or may not have skipped work to take care of my sick daughter when I was just fighting off a hangover.”

“Oh. My. God,” Karen says, gaping at him. “I take it all back. You _are_ an asshole.”

Foggy groans and throws his head back, “I knowww. But I need your help, please. I can’t afford to lose my job, Kare." He gives her his best pleading eyes.

“What do you want me to do? Wear a suit and a mustache and pretend to be your husband?”

“As much as I’d appreciate that, I think your pregnant tummy will get in the way,” Foggy chuckles. “Besides, I have someone very specific in mind…” he trails off and looks around the gym. Matt and Castle co-own Fogwell’s and since Castle retired from the Army, he spends his whole time managing this place. “Where’s Castle?” He asks looking back at Karen.

“Oh no,” Karen says shaking her head. “No, no, no, no, no, you are _not_ dragging him into your mess.”

“But- but- I really need his help, Karen. _Please,”_ he pleads. “And I may or may not have already told my coworkers that my husband’s name is Frank and my daughter’s name is Lisa.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake. He’s not here right now. He went out. Besides, what makes you think he’ll even help you? You aren’t exactly nice to him _or_ his daughter for that matter." 

“Hey, I try to be nice to the little twerp. She’s the one who’s always mean to me,” Foggy says haughtily and crosses his arms over his chest. “Wait… is she here right now? If I can convince _her_ to talk to her dad then he won’t say no.”

Karen scoffs at that. “Yeah, good luck with that. She’s in the back office doing her homework.”  

*** 

Foggy knocks on the office door in the back of the gym and hears a little voice say “come in,” before entering.

“Hey, Lisa,” Foggy waves at the 7-year-old with straight blonde hair and brown eyes sitting behind the large desk that makes her look even tinier.

The little girl frowns when she sees him. “What do you want, Nelson?” She grumbles in a voice that bears an uncanny resemblance to her father.

Foggy tries not to take her hostility personally as he approaches the desk and takes a seat at one of the visitor chairs. “What makes you think I want something?”

“Because you never smile at me,” she points out without beating around the bush. Smart kid.

“Okay,” Foggy says carefully. “I kinda need your help.”

“No,” Lisa mutters and picks up her pencil to start writing again.

Foggy frowns and has a fleeting thought of giving up but then decides against it. “Please? It’s  _really_ important. Like life and death important.”

Lisa lets out a put-upon sigh and slams her pencil down on her Math book before looking up at him again. Her eyes are narrow and calculating and that too bears an uncanny resemblance to her father. “Fine. What do you need?”

Foggy leans forward in his chair and lets his forearms rest against the edge of the table. “This will sound weird but I kinda need you to convince your dad to do something for me.”

“What?” She asks suspiciously.

Foggy watches her carefully for a moment before answering. “Okay, so my boss thinks that I have a husband and a daughter, which I clearly don’t. I need you to convince your dad to pretend to be my husband for this dinner at my boss’ place,” he explains and offers her a tight smile. “I mean this could be fun. Just like playing pretend and you’ll even get to dress up and everything.”

“But that’s lying,” Lisa reminds him.

Yep, smart kid, indeed. “Uh… not really. Look, this is really important. If you don’t convince your dad then I will lose my job. So please, please,  _please_ help me,” he begs and gives her his puppy dog eyes that always work on Karen. 

Lisa picks up her pencil and starts tapping it against her book while giving Foggy a contemplative look. “Okay, I’ll do it,” she nods after a minute or so. Well, that was easy. Foggy honestly thought he would have to get down on his knees and cry to convince her. “But I have three conditions,” she adds soon after and smirks at him.

Well, shit. Of course, she has conditions. But Foggy was desperate and right now the kid could ask for a theme park and he would buy it for her. “Okay, go ahead. What do you need? Toys? Candy? Money for college?” He throws suggestions out there. “Although, tuition might reach a million dollars a year by the time you’re in college. But fret not, my friend, if you get your dad to help me, the new promotion will pay me enough for me to start a college fund for you.”

Lisa’s face scrunches up in disgust and she shakes her head. “No, I don’t want any of that!”

“Oh...kay. Then what _do_ you want?”

The kid scoots forward to the edge of her seat and looks him right in the eye. “Condition one, you’ll have to start being nicer to my dad.”

That shouldn’t be  _that_ hard. Frank can be an okay guy when he’s not an asshole. “Fine. I’ll be nicer to him from this day forward. Promise. What’s condition number two?”

Lisa chews on her bottom lip and her confidence wanes for a bit. “I need you to help my dad,” she finally tells him.

“Help him with what?”

“Last week my brother ran out on the road while we were playing. I saved him, though!” She adds the last part proudly and Foggy genuinely smiles at her this time.

“Yeah, I heard about that. How is your brother now?”  

“He’s okay. He didn’t get hurt or anything. But my mom is really, really mad. She said that my dad has PSDT or something and can’t take care of us.”

“You mean PTSD?” He corrects her.

“Yeah that! My mom doesn’t know what she’s talking about. My dad is fine!” She argues. “But she wants to take my dad back to court anyway. She doesn’t want us to see him anymore.”

Yikes. That’s harsh. Castle and his wife separated about two years ago. Castle retired from the Marines to work on his marriage but things didn't work out, unfortunately. He and his wife divorced and she got custody of the kids but Castle does still get weekend visitation. Foggy knows the man lives for the days he sees them. Foggy also knows Castle would probably burn down the whole world if his ex-wife stopped him from ever seeing his children again. “What do you want me to do?” Foggy asks after a few seconds of consideration. 

“You’re a lawyer. Uncle Matt says you’re the best lawyer ever. If you take this case then my mom won’t win. You’ll have to do it for free, though because my dad doesn’t have a lot of money.”

For a 7-year-old, the kid sure knew how to negotiate. “I would love to help, kid, but I don’t practice Family Law. I’m a Criminal Lawyer,” Foggy tries to explain and hopes this wouldn’t be a deal breaker.

“What does that mean?” Lisa asks tilting her head to the side and giving him a curious look. 

“It means, I help people convicted of a crime, like murder, burgarly, etc. Your mom and dad’s case isn’t one of these cases, so I can’t help with that.”

“Oh,” Lisa mumbles and looks down at the desk with a pout.

And nope, that doesn't break Foggy’s, heart. Not even a little. Okay, so maybe that's a lie. “Look, I may not be a family lawyer but my mom is. I will talk to her and see if she'll take your dad’s case, okay?” He assures her.

A bright smile spreads across Lisa’s face as she looks up at him again. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Foggy promises. “So do we have ourselves a deal now?”

“I still have the third condition.”

“Of course, you do, kid,” Foggy sighs and tries hard not to rolls his eyes. “While I do feel like I am getting the short end of the deal here, I am feeling generous today so go ahead, state your third demand.”

“My dad is all alone and sad. He hasn’t dated anyone since my mom left and I think if he dates someone, he’ll be happy again…”

“You want me to date your dad?” Foggy asks incredulously. “I am desperate, kid, but not _that_ desperate.”

“No! Not you!” Lisa replies, frowning at him again. “You’re mean to him. You’ll make him more sad.”

“Gee. Thanks.” Foggy finally does roll his eyes and leans back against the chair.

“I want you to help me find my dad a date,” she says instead.

Well, that was unexpected. “You want _me_ to help _you_ find your dad a _date?”_ He asks, repeating Lisa’s words to her.

“That’s what I just said!” She replies, irritated. “So will you help me? But it will have to be someone nice. Someone who doesn’t make him sad or isn’t mean to him.”

“So basically someone who isn’t me?”

“Yes, exactly,” the kid replies, nodding her head enthusiastically. “And someone who can read stories using funny voices, and make awesome pancakes!” She adds to her list of requirements.

“Yeah, I’m not going around town asking women if they know how to make pancakes,” Foggy informs her. “But I will help you find your dad a date. So _now_ do we have ourselves a deal?” He asks sticking out his hand towards the kid.

“Nope, not yet!” Lisa answers, still grinning at him.

Of course, that’s not it because the universe hates Foggy and his life can never be easy.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy tries to figure out what exactly is Frank's type and Matt is the least helpful person in the world.

“Okay, what else do you need?”

Lisa taps her pencil against her book again and shakes her head. “Nothing. But how do I know that you’re telling the truth?”

“Hmmm... Good point. How would I know that you’ll hold your end of the bargain too?”  

“I will!” Lisa argues, scowling at him. “But I don’t trust you.”

“Well, I don’t trust you either,” Foggy counters. “I have a plan. Come with me,” he says getting off the chair.

Foggy lets Lisa out of the office first and then takes her to the front desk where Karen is still working.

Karen looks up from her laptop and narrows her eyes at them. “What’s going on?”

“We are making a deal and we need you to hold us responsible if one of us doesn’t hold our end of the bargain,” Foggy explains and looks over at Lisa who nods in agreement. 

“Seriously? You’re making deals with a 7-year-old,” Karen sighs and gets off her chair before waddling her way around the desk. “What kind of deal is it, anyway?”

“From today, Nelson will have to be nice to my dad, he’ll get his mom to help my dad with his case, AND he will help me find my dad a date. Then I’ll talk to my dad about helping him,” Lisa explains like a grown up and puts her hands on her hips.

Karen looks up at Foggy and raises an eyebrow at him. “Really? You’re going to help Frank with his case AND you’ll help him find a date?”

Foggy puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “What can I say, Kare? I am a generous man.” Both Karen and Lisa give him identical eye rolls. _Rude_. “So are you going to help us or what?” Foggy continues to ask.

“Yeah, Aunty Karen. You have to. I don’t trust Nelson!” Lisa says and sticks out her tongue at Foggy.

Since Foggy isn’t above a 7-year-old, his sticks his tongue out right back at her.

“Oh god, I know I’m going to regret this but fine. You both have two weeks to hold your end of the bargain. If Foggy fails his end of the bargain then um… he has to do your homework for a whole month,” Karen tells Lisa.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Foggy argues. “I have to do three things, Karen. Three. Things.”

“Well, you’re a 32-year-old man and she’s a 7-year-old little girl. I think you’ll be okay,” Karen points out. “And Lisa, if you don’t hold your end of the bargain then…um… you will have to go to the dinner at Foggy’s boss’ house anyway, even if your dad doesn’t go AND you’ll have to be nicer to Foggy.”

Lisa crosses her arms over her chest and glares at Foggy. “Fine!”

Karen grins and claps her hands together. “Awesome. Now hug it out to make the deal official.”

“No!” Foggy and Lisa say at the same time and shake hands instead.

***

While Lisa returns to the back office, Foggy hangs out with Karen behind the front desk.

“Why didn’t you tell me Castle needed an attorney?” He asks as casually as possible.

Karen leans back in her chair and shrugs at him. “I didn’t think there was anything to tell. I mean, you’re not exactly a Family Lawyer so you couldn’t have helped Frank anyway, and you two don’t get along so I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Oh, come on, Kare, I’m not an _actual_ asshole,” Foggy states, feeling a little offended. “I don’t want his children to be taken away.”

Karen’s lips twitch in an amused smile. “I know. I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you. Frank’s out looking for a lawyer right now, but I don’t think he even wants to fight at this point.”

“What do you mean?” Foggy asks, confused. “Those kids are his whole life.”

“He blames himself for Frankie getting hurt. I think he believes that his wife is right and he can’t take care of Frankie and Lisa." Karen bites down on her bottom lip as she rubs her belly. “I think he plans to let his wife take the kids and then rejoin the Army. These days he sounds like someone who has just given up on life, you know?”

Foggy sighs when she’s done. He didn’t realize things were _that_ bad with Frank. Maybe Lisa was right. If Frank starts dating again, then maybe he’ll have a reason to fight. Not that Foggy cares if he sticks around or not but he meant it what he said earlier. He's not an asshole and if he can help Frank then he will. Yep, Foggy is an actual saint like that. 

“We should help him, Kare Bear. If we find him a date then he’ll have a reason to stay around.”

“What do you mean we? _You_ have to find him a date. There is no we in this, my friend.”

“But- but-” he splutters. “I can’t do this alone, Kare. I am not a heterosexual man. I don’t know what they look for in a woman.”

“What makes you think he’s heterosexual?”

“How can he be anything but, Kare Bear?" Foggy asks in disbelief. "I mean, have you seen the guy? He’s the poster boy for heterosexuality.”

“You said the same thing about Matt _and_ me,” Karen reminds him with a slight bitterness in her voice. “If Matt’s pan and I am bi, then don’t you think you could be wrong about Frank too?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Foggy huffs. “I am taking the safe route. Do you know what type of women he’s into?”

“You’d have to ask him that,” Karen tells him. “Now go away. I got work to do.”

“Nah, I’m gonna stay. Wait for Castle to get back. Hey, hold on… Where’s Matt?” Foggy asks when he realizes he hasn’t seen Matt since he got here. He takes out his phone and looks at the time to find that’s only 6:30 PM. “He’s not out-” Foggy looks around and then leans in to speak into Karen’s ear. “-jump off buildings and kicking the crap out of bad guys already, is he? It’s barely dark outside.”

Karen doesn’t say anything and her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip. “Uh.. no, he’s out. He had to do something,” she tells him hesitantly.

“ _Karen”_ Foggy says in a low voice. “What’s going on?”

“I told you! It’s nothing. He’s just busy these days,” Karen tells him, slightly agitated.

“Oh...kay,” Foggy replies stiffly and drops the subject. For now. He knows something’s going on with Matt. “Anyway, do you think Castle will let me take his kids to my parents’ house tomorrow?” He asks instead.

“Why on Earth would you wanna take them to your parents’ house?” Karen asks suspiciously.

“If I am going to convince my mom to take Castle’s case then I need leverage. Like two pair of puppy dog eyes staring her down and making her heart melt."

“I don’t know whether to be proud that you’re actually willing to help Frank or horrified that you’re trying to use his children to do so,” Karen tells him and shakes her head. “Well, Frank’s going to Jersey for a few hours tomorrow afternoon. Matt and I were supposed to keep an eye on the kids but I guess you could volunteer on our behalf.”

“He’s going to get suspicious, Karen,” Foggy points out. “I need to be discrete about helping him, like a secret Fairy Godmother. Otherwise, he won’t take my help.”

“You’re right, but I am not letting you take his kids anywhere without his permission because I value my life too much. So get creative and convince him.”

***

By the time it’s 7:30, Karen gets tired and the smell of sweat mixed with body spray becomes too overwhelming for her. As soon as Castle gets back, Karen packs her stuff and takes Lisa with her back to her place. While Karen gives him a quick peck on the cheek and wishes him luck on her way out, Lisa gives him a pointed look like she’s ready to stab him if he backtracks on his deal. Foggy’s pretty sure that kid will grow up to be a second Black Widow or something.

Foggy hangs out the front desk, greeting customers and swiping their membership cards (he should really get paid for this shit), while Castle stays in the back. He’s a Certified Personal Trainer and often helps the customers train. Foggy sits in the swivel chair Karen vacated and intently watches Castle help a blonde woman with a bright smile as she does her crunches. She looks far too happy for someone who’s been forced to do a hundred or so crunches and it takes Foggy a while to realize that maybe she’s into Castle. His theory is confirmed when he sees the lady lean close to Castle’s face on her way up. Well, this was easy.

“Good evening, Mr. Nelson,” a familiar voice makes Foggy tear his gaze away from Castle.

He grins when he finds a familiar tall, blond man in a light gray compression shirt standing in front of him with a warm smile plastered on his face.

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Foggy’s cheers a little too loudly and offers Captain America a quick two finger salute.

That makes the good Captain laugh and duck his head. “I’ve told you so many times that I wasn’t in the Navy, Mr. Nelson.”

“Meh,” Foggy says and shrugging his shoulders.

Captain America (of all people) comes to Fogwell’s every Monday and Friday at exactly 8 P.M with his two roommates, Natasha Romanov and Sam Wilson. The three are a definition of perfection and they give the other patrons at Fogwell’s a run for their money. Actually, most of them run out the moment these three step into the gym because which poor unfortunate soul would want to train next to The Avengers?

“Here to put everyone to shame again, are we, Captain?” Foggy asks as he takes their membership cards and swipes them.

“You know it, Nelson,” Sam replies and Foggy fist bumps with him.

Romanov just rolls her eyes at them, while an amused smile plays across her face. She leaves to go inside the gym and Sam waves at Foggy before trailing behind her. Captain America, on the other hand, stays back like he always does. He’s never in a hurry to workout. Not that he needs it. The guy always looks his like he’ll rip his compression shirt in half.

“So how’s work, Mr. Nelson?” Captain America asks, trying to make small talk.

Foggy grunts and throws his head back against the chair. “Oh, Cap, trust me you don’t wanna know. Besides, I don’t think I’ll be able to take it if I disappoint my childhood hero,” he replies dramatically.

“That bad, huh?” Captain America offers sympathetically. “And you won’t disappoint me, Mr. Nelson.”

Foggy purses his lips together and nods. “Let’s just say today was somehow simultaneously the best _and_ the worst day of my life.”

“Oh, I’ve been there,” Captain America says with a chuckle. It’s a nice chuckle, Foggy notes. “Mr. Nelson, maybe we-”

“Yo, Steve! You coming or what?” Foggy hears Sam yell from the gym before Cap can finish his thought.

“I should,” Cap says pointing his thumb towards the gym. “I’ll talk to you later, Mr. Nelson.”

“You know where to find me, Cap,” Foggy tells him and offers him another two finger salute.

Foggy spends the next ten minutes swiveling around on the chair and answering texts from his coworkers. When he’s bored, he starts watching Cap, Sam, and Romanov training at the gym. That’s when he notices something curious. He finds Castle and Romanov sparring in the boxing ring. Romanov is a skilled fighter and she’s pretty much kicking Castle’s ass but Castle doesn’t seem to mind. At one point, Romanov gets on Castle’s back and puts him in a headlock and Castle actually laughs. He somehow manages to twist Romanov off his back and slams her on the floor but she doesn’t give up and sticks out her leg to kick Castle’s leg and puts him off his balance. The moment he’s down, she gets on top of him and presses him down with her knee to his chest.

“The hell are you watching? Your heartbeat is off the charts right now.”  

A voice startles Foggy. He turns around to find Matt behind him and frowns at his best friend. “Jesus, dude. The fuck did you come from?”

“Don’t use Jesus’ name in vain, Foggy,” Matt scolds him as he throws his backpack on the floor.

“Wait, where’s your gym bag? What are you doing with a backpack instead?” Foggy asks suspiciously as he starts swiveling his chair again.

“What, I can’t use a backpack now?” Matt asks as he hops onto the desk and presses his foot against Foggy’s chair to stop him from moving. “What are you doing here on a Friday night, anyway? Actually, don’t answer that. Let me guess, you’re here because you wanted to watch Captain America workout,” he asks, smirking at Foggy.

Foggy reaches out to smack Matt’s arm but the asshole grabs his hand and pushes it away. “You are such a dickbag,” he complains and sticks his tongue out Matt instead. “I just stuck out my tongue at you, in case you couldn’t tell. And no, I’m not here to watch Captain America workout. I’m here because I’m a great friend and I wanted to help you, but your ungrateful ass, of course, can’t appreciate that.”

Matt snorts and kicks Foggy’s thigh. “A great friend, yeah right.”

“Excuse you, Matthew,” Foggy scoffs and pushes Matt’s foot off his chair. “I have always been a great friend, since the day you stumbled into our freshmen dorm room with your wounded duck face and _I_ graciously took pity on you and adopted you.”

“You didn’t adopt me,” Matt reminds him. “You used me to get laid, that is until you realized you were gay and you didn’t have to use your ‘look at me I’m best friends with the blind guy’ shtick to get men.”

“I would never,” Foggy gasps. “How dare you spread such foul rumors about me and dishonor me like that, Matthew?”

Matt scoffs and raises his foot and kicks Foggy’s thigh again.

“Annnnd this is what I was talking about earlier. That kid of yours will have two very immature parents. I worry for them,” Foggy teases him. 

“Speaking of earlier, a little birdie told me that you’re married to Frank now and have adopted his two kids? Congratulations?” Matt says cheekily and smirks at him.

“That wife of yours! I can’t tell her anything.”

“I mean, come on, man. Did you really think she wouldn’t tell me?”

“No, because we’re _friends_ and friends keep each other’s secrets,” Foggy retorts. “And yes, hypothetically I am married to your second best friend.”

“Damn, and I didn’t even get to be Best Man,” Matt replies with a fake pout. “But if you two really get married whose Best Man will I be, anyway?” He wonders out loud.

This time Foggy reaches out and quickly smacks him upside the head. “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about. Priorities, man,” Foggy reminds him. “By the way, I need your help.”

“What help?” Matt asks as he jumps off the desk.

Foggy looks over at where Castle and Romanov are talking while hanging back against the boxing ring rope dividers. “Do you know what type of women Castle is into?”

“The fuck?”

"Just humor me?” Foggy insists.

“How would I know what type of women he’s into?”

“ _Because”_ Foggy exaggerates. “You’ve been his friend since high school.”

Matt shrugs at that. “I dunno. Maria?”

“That’s not a type, Matthew, that’s one specific woman.”

“Well, I really don’t know,” Matt repeats himself. “He didn’t date anyone apart from Maria. They met during high school and had been together since. Even before her, he didn’t exactly _look_ at anyone. The only person that made his heart speed up and his whole body react was Maria. It’s weird, actually. I mean, literally everyone around me had physical reactions to people of the opposite or same-sex that they were attracted to but not Frank. Then Maria transferred to our school during the junior year and she intrigued Frank, so they started hanging out. A few weeks later, I noticed the same physical reaction from him that I noticed in every other horny teenager,” Matt explains. “Huh, actually, come to think of it, he's never that same physical reaction to anyone again.”

“The fact that you can feel other people’s arousal still disturbs the hell out of me,” Foggy admits out loud.

Matt ducks his head as soon as the words leave Foggy's mouth. “Sorry-”

“Oh shut up, I’m not judging you, asshole,” Foggy brushes off his apology. “Do you think he's attracted to Romanov?” He asks curiously.

“Why would you wanna know that?”

“For once just do as I say, Matthew. Without asking any questions,” Foggy chastises him and gets out of the chair to stand next to his friend.

Matt lets out a displeased sound and then turns his ear to focus on Castle and Romanov. “Well, he still has an adrenaline rush. His voice is normal but he’s panting a little and his heart rate is up. I’m guessing that’s because of the workout. They’re discussing their fighting techniques. I don’t think he’s attracted to her. He’s talking to her the same way he does with his Marine buddies. He has a lot of respect for her and her skills." 

Foggy groans in frustration and throws his head back. “If Romanov isn’t his type then who is?”

“Why does it matter?” Matt asks in an amused voice. “What’s with the sudden interest in his love life?”

“Because I promised his daughter that I would help her find him a date,” Foggy blurts out.

“Seriously? Well, that’s generous of you,” Matt replies sarcastically. “Why are you _really_ helping her, Foggy?”

“It’s the only way she’ll convince her dad to help me during the dinner at my boss’ place. Well, that and if I am nice to her dad _and_ if I help him with his custody battle.”

“You’re actually involving a 7-year-old in your malicious plan? That’s low, man, even for you.”

“Excuse you, it’s a deal. She’ll uphold her end of it as I’ll do mine,” Foggy informs him. “Besides, all of this is helping Castle. You should be grateful that, like you, I have taken your second best friend under my warm and beautiful wing and now I am working on improving his life.”

“Right,” Matt scowls at him. “By the way, why didn’t ask me to be your pretend husband? I mean, you would think that I would be your first choice. You don’t even get along with Frank,” Matt asks focusing on the wrong thing again.

Foggy scrunches up his nose and sticks out his tongue in mock disgust. “Ew! Because you’re _you_.”

“You didn’t think I was ‘ew’ when I used to put your dick in my mouth back in college,” Matt throws back.

“Whoa, did not expect to hear that.” 

Foggy heart jumps at that voice. He turns to find Captain America standing by the gym entrance. 

Foggy feels his whole face heat up but Matt is as shameless as ever and he just snickers instead. “I- uh- he’s just kidding,” Foggy scrambles to explain and not so gently punches Matt’s arm. With Captain America around, Matt doesn't bother to evade the hit.

“Oh, okay,” Cap replies awkwardly and then comes to a stop in front of the front desk. “So earlier you said that you were having a bad day? And I was wondering if you would like to talk about it… over coffee. With me? Sometime?”

Foggy stops breathing for a second and just stares at Captain America. A loud cough from Matt brings him back to reality. “Did you- did you just-” he splutters. “Did you just ask me on a _date_?” Foggy asks incredulously.

Cap scratches the back of his head and Foggy notices a hint of pink covering his cheeks. “If you would like to call it that? Or it could be just a coffee between two friends, Mr. Nelson.”

“Oh,” Foggy exhales a sharp breath. “Um- yeah- sure- I mean, of course, I would love to- I mean like to- have coffee. With you. Sometime.” Foggy somehow manages to reply.

“Great, so-” Cap picks up a business card from the stack on the desk and writes down something on it before handing the card to Foggy. “That’s my number. Just give me a call whenever you’re ready, Mr. Nelson.”

“Okay,” Foggy nods numbly. He gulps as Cap picks up his bag and walks out the door. His two roommates follow soon after.

“The fuck just happened?” Matt voices Foggy’s disbelief out loud for him.

“I have no fucking clue,” Foggy mumbles and then looks over at Matt. “Why the hell would he ask _me_ out? I mean- look at him _,_ Matt _.”_

“It’s not that big a deal, Foggy.”

“Not that big a deal? Are you serious, Matthew? That’s Captain Friggin’ America and I am me. I am a literal nobody. He has to have ulterior motives.”

Matt sighs at that. “I listened to his heartbeat. He was definitely nervous but I don’t think he has ulterior motives, Foggy. Besides, what ulterior motives could he possibly have? As much as you like to think you are, you’re not actually some supervillain.”

“No, but I do happen to be the best friend of a vigilante that literally everyone is looking for,” Foggy points out. “The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen helped me with the Wilson Fisk case. People are coming out of the woodwork to find out if I know what you look like or why you brought the case specifically to me. Maybe _he,”_ Foggy says pointing towards the closed front door, “-wants to know the same thing. Maybe he wants to recruit Daredevil to the Avengers and wants to use me to get in contact with him.”  

“Or _maybe_ you’re just overthinking this, Foggy,” Matt tells him and reaches out to rest his hand on Foggy’s shoulder. “I don’t think he has ulterior motives and just genuinely wants to be your friend or something. The guy has been your hero since you were a kid and now he asks you get coffee with him and you’re freaking out.”

“Who’s freaking out?” A low, gruff voice comes from behind him and Foggy turns to find Frank standing there with the same grumpy look on his face that he always has.

“Foggy is,” Matt replies Matt replies, slapping Foggy on the back. “He just got asked out by Captain America.”

Frank nods at him, “Good on you, Counselor. Looks like you can finally get into his pants. At least we won’t watch you drool over the carpet watching him workout no more,” he says sarcastically.

Foggy gives him a dirty look as he feels a spike of anger rush through his body. He’s about to give the man a snide remark when he remembers his promise to Lisa. He needs to be nice to this douchebag. “Yeah, I guess so,” Foggy says instead and gives him a tight smile.

Frank looks taken aback by Foggy's response but doesn’t say anything else.

“Okay! I should get going,” Matt announces breaking the silence. “Foggy, could you stick around and help Frank close up the place?”

Foggy wants to refuse but this might be his only chance to talk to Frank so he nods and then says, “Yeah, I’ll help him.”

Matt packs up his stuff with superhuman speed and then gives each of them a quick pat on the back before heading out, leaving Foggy to deal with Frank by himself. Foggy, who will have to take Frank’s insults without saying anything back. This should be fun, and by fun he means suffocating.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't go well between Foggy and Frank. Until they do...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It kinda breaks my heart writing Lisa and Frank Jr. in this fic, knowing what happened to them in canon. GAH I was close to tears, you all.

“Here, take this.”

Foggy scrunches up his nose and purses his lips together as a sweeper and dustpan are shoved into his hands. “What the hell do I do with this?” 

Castle’s lips twitch with a self-satisfied smirk as he replies, “Get sweeping, Counselor. Can’t close up the place if it’s not clean.”

“Wait… what? Why do _I_ have to sweep up?” Foggy continues ask. “Why can’t you do it?”

“Because I have to clean the equipment and put everything back in its place,” Castle explains going back to his usual irritated self. “Now go!”

Foggy had a fleeting thought of just throwing the sweeper and dustpan aside and walking away but then he is once again reminded of his promise. “Jeez, bossy!” Foggy huffs instead and stomps away to the back. He suddenly gets _why_ Karen didn’t want to stick around. The whole gym reeks of sweat and terrible body spray. “I hate you!” He shouts, looking over at Castle and the asshole just flips him off.

When Castle comes around to clean the weight plates and put them away, Foggy stops sweeping and hovers behind him. “Hey, Castle?” Foggy calls over the guy’s shoulder. Castle grunts in response and Foggy takes that as a sign to continue. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed a lawyer? I mean, I could have helped you, you know?”

Castle stops cleaning the weight plates and Foggy notices as his shoulders stiffen. “I don’t need your help,” he grumbles.

“Look, I know you don’t like me, man, but this is important,” Foggy argues as he drops the sweeper and moves around to stand in front of Castle. “I think for once I could put aside our differences and actually help you.”

Castle’s grip tightens around the weight plate and his eyes narrow as he glares at Foggy. “I said,” he pauses and takes a step towards Foggy. “I don’t need your damn help.” He repeats himself and in a low, dangerous voice sends a shiver through Foggy’s whole body.

Foggy looks into his light brown eyes for a few seconds before saying, “You know what, screw this. If you want to lose your children then that’s on you.” He starts to walk away but a loud clang makes him jump. Suddenly, there’s a hand on his arm and he’s being whirled around to face Castle again.

“Don’t talk about my children again,” Castle warns him. “And you wanna know why I don’t like you?” He doesn’t wait for a response. “Because you rich folk are all the same. You walk around all high and mighty, but deep down you’re just an asshole.”

Ouch.

Foggy yanks his arm out of Castle’s grip and before he can even think about what he’s doing, he clocks the man across the face. Foggy regrets it the second his fist connects with Castle’s jaw. “Oh my, god, shit,” he hisses when Castle looks up again and there’s blood running down the edge of his lips. “Castle, I- I’m sorry,” Foggy hastily apologizes. His heart hammers in his chest as Castle glares at him, clenching and unclenching his fists beside him.

‘The truth hurt, don’t it, Counselor,” Castle snaps at Foggy. He doesn’t say another word and he turns around to leave. “Go. I’ll lock up the place,” he deep voice booms through the empty gym when he opens the office door.

“But-” Foggy starts to protest.

“I SAID GO!” He yells this time and slams the door behind him.

Foggy drops the sweeper and does as the guy said. He really isn’t in the mood to get punched by Castle in return. He tries hard not to think about how he broke his promise to Lisa on the first day.

***

“YOU PUNCHED FRANK?” Karen pretty much yells through the phone when she calls Foggy the next morning.

Foggy groans and forces himself to sit up on the bed and he rubs his eyes with the back of his hand. “He forced me to! He called me an asshole,” Foggy grumbles. “ _H_ _e’s_ the asshole. He went ahead and complained to you guys in order to make himself to look good and paint _me_ as the bad guy.”

“He didn’t have to tell us anything, Foggy,” Karen replies, lowering her voice. “His swollen jaw kind of speaks for itself.”

“Shit,” Foggy hisses. “I swear it wasn’t that bad of a punch, Karen. I am a soft guy with a tender touch. There’s no way in hell my punch would have given him a swollen jaw.”

“Well, that’s what happened, you _asshole_ ,” Karen replies, emphasizing on the word asshole. Yep, she is more than pissed. “I thought you were supposed to be nice to him. What the hell happened?”

Foggy throws his comforter aside before planting his feet on the ground. “I was just trying to be nice to him, Kare Bear.” He hoped the nickname would placate her a little. “I asked him why didn’t he tell me that he needed a lawyer and he got all annoyed about it and called me a rich asshole.”

Karen sighs and Foggy can almost feel her judgmental gaze through the phone. “Foggy, you weren’t supposed to ask him about that. He’s already pretty upset about the whole thing and you talking about it just probably pissed him off more.” She pauses before adding, “Yesterday, he went out looking for a lawyer again but he still hasn’t found anyone. So _please_ Foggy, don’t talk to him about the case again. I know you’re trying to help but if you could be discreet about it." She takes another pause and then says. "You need to come down here and apologize to him.”

“Why do I have to apologize? I didn’t do anything wrong, Karen. If he’s pissed then that’s on him.”

“Foggy,” Karen says in a much calmer voice. Foggy knows she’s up to something. “Do you know what I have in front of me right now?” 

“I’m not a psychic, Karen." 

“Hmmm…” Karen trails off. “I have one of our business cards in front of me, that for some reason has the name Steve Rogers written on the back with a number under it. I wonder who could have left this here. Though, it would be a shame if I were to- I dunno- accidentally drop it in the shredder.”

Damn. After the whole shit show yesterday, he actually forgot to bring the card home with him. “You bitch, you wouldn’t dare,” Foggy grumbles as he gets off his bed.

“You have 45 minutes, my friend,” Karen warns him. “Get here or say bye-bye to this ver _y important_ card.”

“Fine! I’ll come apologize but don’t expect me to like it!” Foggy huffs and then hangs up on her. 

Foggy showers and gets ready in record time. He decides to try on the pair of joggers he bought a few months ago but never wore. They’re charcoal in color and make Foggy look good if he says so himself. He throws on his white Hollister t-shirt that’s a little tight around the torso area but again makes him look good nonetheless. To top off his ensemble, he throws on a gray hoodie and leaves it unzipped.

***

Foggy has enough time to buy everyone apology Starbucks on his way to the gym. He gets Karen a Cotton Candy Frappe because she’s a goddess who deserves Cotton Candy Frappe. He gets Matt a Double Shot Espresso because the guy is always in need of one after his nightly activities. He gets Castle a Black Coffee with no sugar because he looks like the type of guy who drinks Black Coffee with no sugar. Foggy’s known Castle for years but he doesn't _know_ Castle. He only heard about the guy's divorce from Karen because that girl sure does love to gossip. 

Last night he finally found out why Castle didn’t like him and truth be told, it hurt a little. Foggy knows they’ve never been friends but to know that Castle downright hates him, left a sour taste in his mouth. Foggy may or may not have had a couple of drinks last night while wallowing over the fact that his best friend’s other best friend hates him. Isn't the friend of my friend supposed to be my friend?

With how things are right now, Foggy will probably have to hire an escort to go to the dinner with him. At this point, he can’t even take Matt as his pretend husband because he went a little too deep into the whole backstory of his husband. He told everyone that _Frank_ was a Sniper in the Army and while Matt might be perfectly capable of shooting a gun with extreme accuracy because of his bat ears and bloodhound nose or whatever (Foggy’s never tested that theory), Foggy can’t tell anyone that without giving away Matt’s secret. Foggy has a passing thought of asking Captain America for help but then he remembers that everyone in the whole world knows who that guy is. The same goes for Sam Wilson. So Foggy either has to sort things out with Castle over the next few weeks or he has to hire an escort who looks like he’s in the military.

***

“Never say, I didn’t get you anything,” Foggy states as he hands Matt and Karen their drinks.

“You’re a godsend,” Matt tells him and he takes a sip from his cup so quickly that Foggy’s almost scared he might burn his throat.

“Yes, I know I’m a godsend, but slow down, buddy. I actually like you alive,” Foggy says taking a sip from his own cup. “And I’m sure your wife does too,” he adds as an afterthought and gets a slap upside the head from Karen for that. 

“Ow! I’ll take back your frappe!” Foggy warns her.

“I’d like to see you try,” Karen challenges him and sticks out her tongue. “So who’s that other drink for?” She asks, giving him a knowing smile.

“What? A guy can’t buy a second Caramel Macchiato for himself?”

Karen rolls her eyes before taking a sip from her frappe. “Mmmmm….” she moans loudly, making both Foggy and Matt look up and give her an odd look. Well, at least Foggy is giving her an odd look, Matt looks like a horny teenager. “What?” Karen asks smirking at them.

“You know what it does to me when you do that!” Matt complains pouting at her.

A fond look falls across Karen’s face as she hops off the chair and kisses the top of Matt’s head. “Awwwww… And you know what it does to me when you make a face like that,” she says laying her head down on Matt’s shoulder.

“Argh… You two are so- disgusting,” Foggy says scrunching up his face in faux disgust. Those two idiots are _actually_ cute. Foggy just wishes they weren’t cute around him because it only reminded him how alone he was.

“Don’t listen to him, baby, he’s just jealous,” Karen says nuzzling Matt’s cheek with her nose.

“Okay, I’ve had enough. I’m gonna go give Castle my peace offering,” Foggy tells them and picks up the coffee tray before crossing the gym to the back office. He takes a deep breath and then knocks on the door.

“Yeah?” Comes Frank’s rumbling voice from the other side.

Foggy slowly opens the door and finds Castle sitting behind his desk doing paperwork. The guy is wearing his usual open front black hoodie. Like always he also has on his charcoal gray beanie, which is covered by the hood of his jacket. Foggy can also see the slight swell of Castle's jaw from where he socked the guy the previous night.

“Hey,” Foggy says gently as he takes a few steps towards the desk.

Castle's kids who are sitting on the visitor chairs, turn to look at him. While 3-year-old Frankie has a smile on his face like he always does, Lisa looks pissed. For a 7-year-old, the kid sure knows how to make a person quiver under her glare.

“Hey,” Castle replies.

Okay, he didn’t say get out so that’s a good sign. “Um… Can we talk?” Foggy asks biting his bottom lip.

“Lisa, could you take your brother to the front desk and stay with Murdock and Page?” Castle asks his daughter, his voice gentle like it always is when he talks to his children.

Lisa nods reluctantly and gets up from her chair. “Come on, Frankie, let’s go to Aunty Karen and Uncle Matt,” she says, helping her brother out of his chair. As they walk past him, Frankie wraps his arms around Foggy’s legs in a hug. 

Well, that’s new.

“Hey, Foggy!” The kid says excitedly, tilting his head up towards Foggy.

Foggy stands there not knowing what to do and looks over at Castle for help who just looks amused as he leans back in his chair. Foggy sighs before getting down on the floor. He places the coffee tray out of the way and smiles at the kid.

“Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?” Foggy asks, offering Frankie a genuine smile.

Unlike his sister, who takes after their mother, Frankie takes after Castle. He has the same dark hair and light brown eyes.

“I’m good!” Frankie replies and reaches out to touch Foggy’s hair. “You have pretty hair!” He adds randomly.

“Why thank you. I think your hair would be pretty too, if your _dad,”_ he says throwing a pointed look towards Castle, “-didn’t insist on cutting it all the time.”

Frankie frowns slightly and then a huge smile breaks out across his face again. “I want hair just like yours when I’m big!”

“You know what, kiddo, I bet you will look awesome!” Foggy replies offering his hand to Frankie for a fist bump.

Frankie fist bumps Foggy before blowing it up and wiggling his fingers. “You’re supposed to make the noise!” he claims.

“Oh silly me, how could I forget the noise?” Foggy chuckles and fist bumps Frankie again before making a blowing up noise.

Much to Foggy’s surprise, Frankie throws his arms around his neck and hugs him. “Okay, bye!” He says before heading out with his sister.

Lisa gives Foggy another glare on her way out. Yep, Foggy’s going to get an earful from her later. Foggy smiles to himself as he gets up from the floor with the coffee tray.

“Here, I got you a peace offering,” Foggy says putting the tray down in front of Frank.

Frank raises an eyebrow at him before reaching out to pick up the coffee cup. He takes a quick sip and his face scrunches up in disgust. “What is _that_?” He asks.

“It’s Black Coffee with no sugar,” Foggy replies, as he takes the seat that Lisa just vacated.

“It don’t taste like Black Coffee,” Frank says before taking another sip. “It tastes like- Caramel?”

“Oh shit, wait, that one’s mine!” Foggy chuckles as he turns the tray to find that he indeed just gave Frank the Hot Caramel Macchiato _that he actually took a sip from earlier_.

“It’s uh- not bad,” Frank notes before taking a third sip. Then a fourth. And then a fifth. 

Huh, looks like he and Foggy finally have something in common.

Foggy sits there watching the man enjoy his drink for a few seconds before he breaks the silence. “Hey, um, I- I’m so sorry about last night.”

Frank puts his drink down and then gives Foggy a calculating look. “I shouldn’t have called you an asshole,” he admits much to Foggy’s surprise.

“And I shouldn’t have punched you. I- I obviously didn’t realize my own strength,” Foggy says pointing at Frank’s face.

“You sure have a mean punch, Counselor,” Frank responds, sounding more amused than annoyed. “Where’d you learn to hit like that?”

Foggy chuckles again before scratching the back of his head. “Uh- I dunno. I grew up with a bunch of cousins and it was always survival of the fittest in our family.”

“Nice,” Frank scoffs and rolls his eyes at Foggy.

Another wave of awkward silence falls between them and Foggy decides to break it one more time. “Look, I had no right to interfere in your private life. And again, I’m sorry that I did.”

“It's all good, Counselor,” Frank replies before leaning forward in his chair. “Just don’t do it again,” he warns Foggy.

Foggy gulps and nods at him in return. “You got it,” he remarks, offering Frank a two-finger salute that he usually gives Captain America. “Look, let me make it up to you. I know you have to go to Jersey today. Maybe I can look after your kids while you’re gone?”

Frank whole body goes stiff and Foggy’s chastises himself to suggesting that. Castle _just_ forgave him. 

“Why would you wanna do that?” Castle asks instead.

“Oh um…” Foggy struggles to find an excuse. “...Like I said, I want to make it up to you. If you’re long then the kids will just get bored hanging around the gym with Matt and Karen. I could take them to the park. I promise I’ll keep an eye on them the whole time.”

“Do you even know how to look after kids? You can barely look after yourself,” Frank says more as a joke than a taunt. He seems to be in a good mood this morning. Maybe Foggy should have punched him a long time ago.

“Excuse you, I take perfectly good care of myself,” Foggy scoffs. “So… what do you say? Do you trust me with your kids?”

Frank sighs and taps his pen against the file. “I dunno, Counselor. But you’re right, they’ll get bored here so why the fuck not. Just make sure you look after them. If either of them even gets a single scratch-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’ll shoot me,” Foggy completes the sentence for him.

“No, I’ll just bury you alive. That’s worse,” Frank replies, smirking at him.

Foggy knows the guy isn’t kidding about that. 

This was easier than he had expected. Now Foggy could take the kids to his parents’ house and use their adorable little faces to convince his _evil_ mom to take Castle’s case for a reasonable fee. That should be easy- ish.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foggy has one hell of a day.

The second he opens the door, Foggy’s dad’s eyes widen comically. Before Foggy can stop him or explain anything, he looks over his shoulder and yells for his wife. “ANNA! COME QUICK! FRANKIE GOT MARRIED!” 

“Oh no,” Foggy mumbles under his breath. He adjusts Frank Jr. in his arms and is about to reply when he hears footsteps rushing down the hallway. Foggy’s mom appears at the huffing and puffing a second later. 

“YOU GOT MARRIED?!” She yells. 

Almost immediately, Foggy feels Lisa grabbing onto his jeans and hiding behind his leg. 

“Mom, Dad, please stop. You’re scaring them.” 

As if on cue, Frankie lets out a loud whine and buries his head in Foggy's shoulder. 

“Oh no, oh no sweetie, it’s okay. They’re not as scary as they look,” Foggy tries assuring the kid. He keeps his other hand on Lisa’s back and really hopes that they don't start crying. 

“Sorry,” both his parents mumble at the same time. 

“Well, come on in, Frankie.” His dad steps aside to let him into the house. “And give the kid to me. I was always good at placating you and your sister when you were tiny tots like these two.” 

“Hey Frankie,” Foggy calls out to the kid, who looks up at him with his big brown eyes. “Do you wanna go with my dad? You can feed the ducks in our pond.” When Frankie nods, Foggy gives him a broad smile in return and lets him down on the floor. “You can go with your brother,” Foggy suggests, looking at Lisa. 

Lisa gives him a pointed look in return. She nods reluctantly and takes her brother’s hand. As Foggy watches them leave with his dad, his mom clears her throat beside him. 

“So…” His mom trails off and Foggy doesn’t have to look at her to know that she’s smirking. “You want to tell me where you hid my grandbabies all these years?” 

“They’re not your grandbabies, mom.” Foggy lets out a deep sigh. “They belong to a…. Friend of mine,” he adds reluctantly. 

“A guy friend?” 

Foggy finally looks over at her to find her waggling her eyebrows at him. “Yes, a guy friend. But don’t get your hopes up. He has a lot of baggage.” 

“Don’t we all.”

“No, he has a little more than the rest of us. That’s why I’m here today. I need to talk to you.” 

“Oh?” The smirk slips off his mother’s face. “Is it something serious?” She leads him back to the kitchen and pours them a cup of coffee each before taking a seat in front of him. 

“Well, my friend, Frankie and Lisa’s dad, he needs a family lawyer.” 

“Custody battle?” His mom asks as she takes a sip from her cup. 

“Yeah. Right now he has weekend visitation rights but his wife wants to take that away too. He won’t be able to see his kids ever again if she does that mom.” 

His mom’s gaze turns curious. “Okay. So why didn’t he come with you? Surely, if his children were important enough to him, he would be here too.” 

“His kids _are_ important to him!” Foggy exclaims. “He’s not here because he doesn’t know that I’m trying to hire you as his lawyer. He’s too much of a stubborn ass to take help.”

Foggy’s eyes widen as he watches his mom burst out laughing. 

“What?” 

“Are you sure this guy isn’t more than a friend?” His mom asks curiously. 

“He’s barely even a friend, mom! He’s more Matt’s friend than mine. I just don’t his children taken away from him.” 

“Okay,” his mom shrugs and takes another sip of her coffee. “I just wanted to make sure. What’s his name?” 

“Frank.” 

“Hmmm… Franklin and Frank. That's not bad.” 

“Oh my god, mom, please shut up.” Foggy groans, rolling his eyes at her. “By the way, I need you to do this pro bono.” 

“Oh. So that’s why you came here instead of telling me this over the phone?” 

“Yes,” Foggy replies sheepishly as he rotates the cup between his hands. “I mean, have you seen the faces of those adorable little kids? Imagine if they could never see their dad again! That’ll be devastating!” 

Much to Foggy’s surprise, his mom’s eyes widen and she abruptly shoots out of her chair. Foggy doesn’t have to wonder long what brought that on when he hears a loud wail behind him. “Oh shit,” he mumbles under his breath and turns around to find Lisa and Frank Jr. standing at the kitchen entrance with his dad. 

“Nice going, son,” his dad says, shaking his head in disappointment. “Aww, it’s okay, kiddo. He didn’t mean that.” Foggy’s dad gets down on the floor in front of Frank Jr. and picks him up in his arms. The kid immediately clings onto him and cries as Foggy’s dad rocks him against his chest. 

Lisa glares at Foggy and stomps over to him. “He didn’t know about the custody thing, Nelson!” 

“Well, it’s not my fault. I didn’t know he was standing there!” Foggy points out. “Ow!” He lets out a pained sound when he feels his mom smack him upside the head. 

“That’s not how you talk to children, Franklin Nelson,” his mom scolds him before taking Lisa’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. As much as grandpa likes to think he’s good with kids, he’s actually bad with them.” 

“Grandpa?’ Lisa’s asks in a hopeful voice and then lowers her head. “I don’t have a grandpa… or a grandma.” 

“Oh, no,” Foggy mumbles under his breath. “Here we go.” 

Foggy’s mom has the ears of a hawk or maybe Matt and she turns around to glare at him, before looking at Lisa again. “Oh, sweetie,” she says in a tender voice and hugs Lisa against her stomach. “You have grandparents now, okay?” She kisses the top of her head. 

Foggy shakes his head as he follows them to the living room, where his dad is trying but failing really hard to console Frankie. Foggy’s mom takes Frankie from him and then settles down on the couch with Frankie on her lap and Lisa beside her. 

“Aw, my son’s a meanie, isn’t he?” She coos and wipes Frankie's tears away with her hand. “Your dad’s not going anywhere, kiddo. I’ll make sure of it. Both you and your sister will stay with him forever, or at least until you’re old enough to live on your own. Don’t listen to my silly boy.” 

Foggy throws his hands up in the air in frustration, which earns him a smack on the back of his head from his dad. 

“Ow! Why does everyone keep doing that?” He complains as he rubs the back of his head. 

“Because you deserve it, that’s why. Little Lisa told me how you’re always mean to her and her dad.” 

“Oh did she now?” Foggy turns his head and glares at Lisa, but she’s busy listening to his mom. 

“We raised you to be a good man, Frankie, not a jerk. Being a single dad is no easy feat. Trust me, I’d know.” There’s a hint of sadness in his dad’s voice which makes Foggy’s heart ache for him.

“Dad-” 

“No, son,” Foggy’s dad stops him. “Be supportive of your friend and his children. He probably needs that now more than ever.” 

“He’s not my friend, dad.” 

His dad purses his lips together and gives him an unamused look. “Son, you’ve been looking after his kids, without any selfish gain. I’d say he’s your friend. Bring him around sometime,” Foggy’s dad adds, smacking him on the back. “If a guy can get _you_  , someone who never even goes near his sister’s kids, to look after his kids then I would love to meet him.” 

Foggy’s cheeks heat up at that. “Whatever dad!” 

A loud laugh rings through the whole living room, and Foggy finds his mom tickling Frank Jr. and Lisa. It warms his heart as he watches the kids retaliate by ganging up on her and tickling her in return. 

“You know, Frankie, if you ever decided to get together with this man…” 

“Dad!” 

“All, I’m saying is that son, this seems like it was meant to be. Your mom and I have known these kids for less than an hour and we’ve already warmed up to them.” 

***

The kids fall asleep on their way home. It’s still 7 PM and Castle wasn’t supposed to get back until 8, so Foggy puts them both in his guest room. He’s pretty pooped out himself. Kudos to Castle and other parents who manage to juggle two or more kids. 

Just as Foggy’s eyes start to close, he remembers that he still hasn’t called or texted Steve. Foggy fishes out his phone and the card with the number from his pocket and shoots Cap a quick text. He isn’t sure if Cap even prefers texting so he decides to give him a call too. The call goes to voicemail instead. Foggy’s so tired that he doesn’t even bother being disappointed. He brings his legs up on the couch and soon falls asleep. 

***

Foggy startles when he hears a loud bell ringing through the apartment. He shoots up from the couch and looks around, only to realize that it's the doorbell. He stretches out his arms and yawns before getting out of the couch. As soon as the door, Foggy freezes. All his sleep disappears immediately. “Castle? What the hell happened to your face?” 

“Hey, Counselor,” Castle grumbles and pushes past Foggy into his apartment. 

Foggy locks the door before trailing after him. “Don’t ‘hey counselor’ me. Did you get into a fight? Oh no, do you have cops after you?” 

Castle grunts as he falls back onto the couch. “No. Just had a little accident.” 

“Little? You look like you had a fight with a mountain lion and lost.” 

Castle shoots him a glare, which makes Foggy put up his hands in surrender. “Just an observation, man. Do you need to go to the hospital?” 

“No, I’ll be good.” 

“Good, he says,” Foggy grumbles before heading off to the kitchen. He takes out the First Aid Kit he keeps in there for his stupid best friend who always ends up with a busted face. Foggy settles down on the coffee table in front of Castle with a bottle of water and his First Aid Box. He reaches out to touch the cut over his eye but Castle catches in hand. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Fixing you up, because for some reason you and Matt refuse to acknowledge that hospital is a thing where you can go when you get hurt.” 

Castle lets go of Foggy’s hand and Foggy takes that as permission to continue. “Mind telling me how exactly you got into an accident?” He takes out a cotton ball and douses it in water before reaching out to clean the cut. 

Castle’s hiss gives Foggy a hint of satisfaction. 

“Speeding." 

“Good God. Are you actually insane? You have kids, man. You can’t go around being reckless like a damn teenager,” Foggy chastises. He uses another cotton ball to spread the antiseptic over his cut. His hand stills when he realizes something. “Wait a second… Speeding isn’t your thing. You lose your head if you see someone speeding on the highway. What really happened?” 

Castle’s eyes widen a little. He darts his tongue out to lick his lips and hesitates for a few seconds before saying, “I blacked out.” 

Foggy pulls his hand away and stares at him. “You blacked out?” 

“Yeah, for a second.” 

“People don’t just black out for no reason, Castle. What the hell happened?” 

When Castle flinches at his words, Foggy immediately feels bad. “Sorry.” 

“One second I was driving on the road and the next, I wake up with my truck rammed into a tree.” 

“Shit,” Foggy hisses. “That’s not normal, man. We should really take you to the E.R.” 

“I don’t need no damn doctors.” 

“Of course you don’t! Because you’re too much of a thick-headed-” Foggy pauses and lets out a frustrated noise. “You know what? That’s none of my damn business. I’ll just patch you up.” 

Castle grabs his hand again, forcing Foggy to look up at him. “I’m okay, Counselor,” Castle assures him. His intense eyes make Foggy shudder. 

“Fine, I believe you, but if things get worse then I am dragging your ass to the ER.” 

That brings a smile on Castle’s face. “I’d like to see you try.” 

Foggy chuckles and pulls his hand out of Castle’s grip before continuing with the task at hand. He puts a gauze pad over the cut and then cleans the wound on his cheek before patching that up too. When Foggy’s done, he hands Castle the bottle of water and a bottle of Advil from the First Aid Box. “Take these. I’m sure you must be hurting all over now. And don’t say you’re okay or I swear to God.” He threatens when Castle looks like he’s about to protest. 

“Yes sir,” Castle replies sarcastically and knocks down two pills with the bottle of water. “Where are my kids?” He asks when he’s done. 

“Oh shit! I think I left them at the park!” Foggy says dramatically but then bursts out laughing. “They’re asleep, you asshole. They’re pretty pooped out after the day they just had.” 

“They are in one piece, though, aren’t they?” 

“Yeah, yeah, they are,” Foggy says, rolling his eyes. “So how was your day? Apart from the accident and all.” 

Castle sighs as he throws his head back. “It was good. I think we may have found ourselves a buyer for the gym.” 

“You guys are selling the gym?!” Foggy exclaims. 

“Shit,” Castle hisses under his breath before looking up at him. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” 

“Why not? You and Matt made such a huge decision, and you didn’t even want to tell me?” Foggy doesn’t even bother hiding the hurt from his voice. “Just when I think things are better between Matt and me, that he’s starting to trust me, we go back to square one.” 

“It’s not like that, Counselor.” 

Foggy smacks his hands against his thighs before flying out of his seat. “Then what is it like, Castle? Relationships, friendships, they don’t work when people hide things from each other. But then again, you wouldn’t understand that. You didn’t even tell your own son that he may never see you again.” 

Castle’s eyes narrow at him. His voice turns low and dangerous as he asks, “You told my kids about the custody battle?” 

Foggy stills in his spot. Shit. 

 


End file.
